Hints and tips:
...West scores J♣, but that is all. East’s play of A♦ on the second round looks mistaken but perhaps he imagined declarer holding ♦KQ and a singleton spade?...
...If West holds a singleton club, and East the singleton Q♥, there is nothing to be done but, if West holds a doubleton club, this may seal off East from being able to regain the lead....
...West led 7♣, taken with dummy’s J♣. Perhaps South can overcome a 4-1 trump break if there is a singleton honour, but these thin contacts usually require some decent divisions....
...If he had four spades to the ace-jack, he would have put in J♠ at trick one, so declarer is marked with four spades....
...Let’s say that East rises with 10♦, J♦ is played and West wins with K♦. If he leads another diamond, it runs to declarer’s ♦A9; if he opts instead for a spade, this runs to South ♠KJ....
...At trick 2, South leads J♣, not covered by West, runs it, and is relieved when it holds....
...BiddingDealer: SouthGame All West led 10♦, identified by all as a singleton, and declarer won in hand and led a trump....
...Here, declarer thought of it in terms of “restricted choice”: if East had held J♠ also, he might have played it: since he did not, it is more likely that West holds it....
...Playing for 5♥ to be a singleton is foolhardy since, if this is the layout, declarer would hold ♥K92 and two heart tricks might belong to East naturally....
...The lead is probably from KJ10xx(x), but declarer worried that East might hold a singleton or doubleton K♠, so she played low from dummy at trick 1....
...Knowing that West holds six hearts, and that 6♦ lead is surely a singleton, allows declarer to keep a count on West’s hand. Declarer covered the lead with dummy’s J♦, East contributed K♦, and South A♦....
...Declarer decided that East’s Q♣ showed J♣, and 10♥ was surely a singleton. West’s plan was clear: win K♠, lead a low club to East’s J♣ and receive the setting heart ruff....
...If East now leads J♥; again South should play low from hand and ruff in dummy....
...To that end, East leads J♣....
...If East holds K♣, declarer seems doomed, but a superior line caters for a singleton or doubleton K♣ in the East hand, and that is a bonus well worth taking. Declarer draws trumps and lays down A♣....
...Since 6♦ looks like a singleton, and Q♥ is likely to be off-side — leading to two further losers — declarer considered where K♣ would be positioned....
...If declarer covers with J♣, West rises with K♣. If declarer ducks, so does West....
...The lead is a singleton — leading dummy’s first bid suit is foolhardy otherwise. When East plays J♣, South wins A♣, draws all the trumps and plays a club to dummy’s K♣....
...Last week, BRB was on home turf with a double bill (Carlos Curates: R&J Reimagined), pegged to its revival of Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet....
...Declarer can see J♥ in dummy, so West’s Q♥ lead is obviously a singleton....
...He won the lead with Q♥ in hand and led 3♦ to J♦ in dummy; East ducking. Abandoning diamonds, he led 3♠ and, when East followed low, he finessed with Q♠. This held the trick....
...J♥ followed and, now when declarer won in dummy and led a third club, East scored his K♣, but had no hearts left to lead. Declarer scored overtricks....
...If declarer plays low from dummy, East must insert J♠. Now, five tricks come easily…...
...Even with the overcall, to play East for singleton K♠ seems overly optimistic so, when East had taken his top three hearts and switched to a diamond, declarer won in hand and led to J♠....
...East takes this with J♥. What should he lead now? The key question is this: why was the opening lead in dummy’s suit?...
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